When Church Street got Social

I remember walking past Church Street Social the day it opened, and thinking to myself that it was a wonderful name for a restaurant/bar/café/community space. It was clear that they were planning to be all of the above, and they started out in the space where all the skeptics, gossip-mongers and vagabonds gather to discuss what will work and what will fail, you might say they had their audience. In many ways, they have kept up with the effort. They have a co-working space, a regular train of workshops (look out for Junta’s inventive art workshops) and DJ nights, a foosball table, an eclectic collection of furniture and a certain vibe with a certain age group. They have a sort of industrial-décor theme going on, so look out for tin plates, buckets and worktop style tables.

Taking pleasure in the little things

As for the food? In all my experiences of being here, I’ve found that the smaller and cuter it is, the better it tastes. Gunpowder Calamari, for example, is quite adorable and a great replacement for fries if you’re drinking (of course you’re drinking). The tiny shawarmas you can roll yourself are another favourite. The Corn Falafel is similar – a good thing in a small package. The Kori Roti is also quite delectable. On the other hand, the Japanese Surf n Turf might have more for the surfers than the turfers. If you’re a truly adventurous eater, you could try out the Saddlebags.

Where ‘another shot’ can be taken literally

As for drinks, they have an extensive cocktail menu, and here also they make a visual story out of it – waiter arrives at your table with beakers, syringe, copper cups or measuring glasses, and pours measures, injects bitters and bubbles liquid nitrogen as per the requirement. It’s a very small performance – think of it as an activity-cocktail. I ask which one is the most entertaining and they tell me it’s the Red Pill or Blue Pill, but I stick with the simple, like the Screw Social Driver for the orange bitters (an extra shot of the bitter would be welcome) and the Moscow Mule, which has a distinctive dryness to the flavour. The Longest Long Island Ice Tea is clearly a favourite on drunken Saturday nights. In many ways, Social has kept up with the mood on Church Street – volatile, humorous, low on attention span, high on tolerance. It’s the kind of place you’d quite naturally walk into if you were walking up and down the street a lot – which a lot of people tend to do, really! And you have to admit, it really is an awesome name – intimate, conversational – qualities that have high market value in urban spaces.

How to Get There:

Church Street SocialWhere: 46/1, Cobalt Building, Church Street, BangaloreContact: 080 40515253 | +91 9611218686Timings: All Days 9 AM to 1 AMCost: ₹1,500 for two people